Posted: 4/21/2009 3:58:15 PM EDT
| Does anyone here engage in fasting to... for lack of another term... clean yourself out? Are there any benefits to fasting? |
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I know folks who do, or have done, it for spiritual reasons. Not much benefit to doing it for weight loss since you lose only water weight or if you sustain it for too long, you will start to lose muscle and your body will hang on to your fat.
I go too long without eating and I get light headed and shaky real fast. No skipping meals for me. 
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actually by fasting you slow the rate at which you would lose fat/weight. Basically our bodies are still hard wired like we are cavemen. Cut out food and your body thinks "oh crap, food shortage, i need to conserve!" which slows your metabolism. If you eat 6 smaller meals a day then you body thinks that times are good and there is no need to conserve. Here is the caveat of it. If you put your body into "conserve mode" it takes several days to get out of it regardless of what you eat and it does not take much for your body to start conserving.
Bottom line is fasting is not good for your body when it comes to fitness (spiritually it can be great though, LOL). J- |
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Lots of misinformation in here.
Yes I fast, intermittently (IF for intermittent fasting). I'll fast anywhere from 15-18 hours maybe 2-5 times a week. I then will usually workout in a fasted state. Contrary to popular belief, if done properly and with a healthy diet, most people will lose fat doing this. This is because fasting builds insulin sensitivity. Insulin spikes cause your body to hold onto fat, when you fast your body doesn't use as much insulin and it also loses some of the insulin resistance that it builds up. This helps to lose fat, and can also cause your body to enter ketosis. Then, working out fasted causes your body to burn fat for fuel. When I was fasting more, (6 days a week for 18 hours) I managed to get my BF below 10%, probably around 8-9%. I was also lifting heavier and running faster, while eating anywhere from 2500-3500 calories a day. I really like IF, and would recommend giving it a shot. Not very many people have tried it, which explains the negativity towards it. I thought it was silly too until I tried it for a month. Check out http://lifespotlight.com/ it has lots of good info about IF. Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself. |
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Quoted: Lots of misinformation in here. Yes I fast, intermittently (IF for intermittent fasting). I'll fast anywhere from 15-18 hours maybe 2-5 times a week. I then will usually workout in a fasted state. Contrary to popular belief, if done properly and with a healthy diet, most people will lose fat doing this. This is because fasting builds insulin sensitivity. Insulin spikes cause your body to hold onto fat, when you fast your body doesn't use as much insulin and it also loses some of the insulin resistance that it builds up. This helps to lose fat, and can also cause your body to enter ketosis. Then, working out fasted causes your body to burn fat for fuel. When I was fasting more, (6 days a week for 18 hours) I managed to get my BF below 10%, probably around 8-9%. I was also lifting heavier and running faster, while eating anywhere from 2500-3500 calories a day. I really like IF, and would recommend giving it a shot. Not very many people have tried it, which explains the negativity towards it. I thought it was silly too until I tried it for a month. Check out http://lifespotlight.com/ it has lots of good info about IF. Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself. +1 Fasting isn't unhealthy. People have been doing it for thousands of years, in many different ways. I fast for 2-3 weeks every 3-6 months or so (no food, large amounts of liquids, mostly water, vitamins, etc.). My mental clarity increases a great deal during that period of time, and my physical ability doesn't decrease that I can tell –– I run, swim, and do basic calisthenics while doing it. I do lose weight, and it's not water weight, as I keep myself hydrated the whole time, but that's not really the main reason I do it. As far as cleaning your system out –– the body tends to store poisons in fat reserves, so as you fast and burn that fat (your body goes into ketosis within about 24-36 hours after starting a fast, and you burn mostly fat until your fat reserves run out) it does clean your system out to some extent. Your metabolism will slow down significantly IF you don't stay active though –– I think a lot of the misinformation that's out there comes from people who fast and sit around on the couch the whole time. A long fast for someone with little to no fat reserves probably wouldn't be a good idea. What you describe above is a new concept to me –– I'll probably try that as well. |
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Quoted:
Lots of misinformation in here. Yes I fast, intermittently (IF for intermittent fasting). I'll fast anywhere from 15-18 hours maybe 2-5 times a week. I then will usually workout in a fasted state. Contrary to popular belief, if done properly and with a healthy diet, most people will lose fat doing this. This is because fasting builds insulin sensitivity. Insulin spikes cause your body to hold onto fat, when you fast your body doesn't use as much insulin and it also loses some of the insulin resistance that it builds up. This helps to lose fat, and can also cause your body to enter ketosis. Then, working out fasted causes your body to burn fat for fuel. When I was fasting more, (6 days a week for 18 hours) I managed to get my BF below 10%, probably around 8-9%. I was also lifting heavier and running faster, while eating anywhere from 2500-3500 calories a day. I really like IF, and would recommend giving it a shot. Not very many people have tried it, which explains the negativity towards it. I thought it was silly too until I tried it for a month. Check out http://lifespotlight.com/ it has lots of good info about IF. Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself. +2 I IF and I also recommend learning more about it and giving it a try. One of the keys is not to IFOC (Intermittent Fast on Crap). First develop the habit of eating clean, then IF. |